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Peter Thiel-Backed Plasma Unveils ‘HotStuff-Inspired Consensus’ For High-Frequency Global Stablecoin Transfers

Crypto start-up Plasma unveiled technical features of its stablecoin-specific blockchain, promising fast and efficient global stablecoin transfers by employing a «HotStuff-inspired» consensus mechanism.
The HotStuff consensus is an example of Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) for blockchains that allows consensus even when some nodes are faulty or malicious. Imagine a group of friends planning a picnic who must agree on a date, location and duration. If the majority agrees, they can successfully move forward while bypassing potential disruptions from a few unreliable friends.
The HotStuff blockchain consensus mechanism takes this further by allowing seamless leader replacement if the decision-maker or the leader node behaves erratically, thereby reducing delays and improving efficiency.
Besides, in traditional BFT systems, every node sends multiple back-and-forth confirmations, which causes delays. The HotStuff mechanism streamlines the process where a leader node proposes a decision and validator nodes confirm in a single step.
«At its core, Plasma leverages PlasmaBFT, a Fast HotStuff–inspired consensus protocol optimized for rapid finality and low latency, supporting high‑frequency global stablecoin transfers,» Plasma announced on X.
Finality in blockchain means the speed at which transactions are confirmed and added to blocks, following which they become irreversible. Meanwhile, low latency refers to the quickness in processing transactions.
Plasma’s blockchain is purpose-built for tether, the world’s largest dollar-pegged stablecoin with a market capitalization of $144 billion. Tether accounts for over 60% of the total stablecoin market, according to data source Coingecko, and its issuer made $13.7 billion in profits last year. The early backers of the project include prominent industry names like venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino and Split Capital’s Zaheer Ebtikar.
Plasma is designed to be a Bitcoin sidechain with full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVM). Most stablecoin activity happens on smart contract blockchains such as Ethereum, Tron and Solana.
Plasma’s execution layer is built on Rust Ethereum, also known as Reth, a modular engine compatible with the EVM, allowing Plasma to run any Ethereum smart contract.
The stablecoin project also has a built-in bitcoin bridge that uses the same group of decentralized validators as the BFT mechanism and periodically links to updates on the Bitcoin blockchain. This allows Ethereum applications to work easily with Bitcoin, using the latter as the settlement layer.
«By periodically anchoring state diffs on Bitcoin, Plasma achieves seamless interoperability and uses Bitcoin as a settlement layer—delivering permissionless finality, stronger censorship resistance, and a universally verifiable source of truth,» Plasma said.
Steven Lubka, head of Swan Bitcoin said the new stablecoin infrastructure seems to be «betting on the thesis that other blockchains are only good for stablecoins and they need Bitcoin security properties to be inherited.»
Other key features of Plasma include custom gas tokens, allowing fee payments in USDT or BTC, zero-charge USDT transfers and confidential transactions while ensuring compliance.
Business
Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.
The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.
Keyrock, founded in Brussels, Belgium and best known for its work in market making, options and OTC trading, said it will fold Turing Capital’s investment strategies and Luxembourg fund management structure into its wider platform. The division will be led by Turing Capital co-founder Jorge Schnura, who joins Keyrock’s executive committee as president of the unit.
The company said the expansion will allow it to provide services across the full lifecycle of digital assets, from liquidity provision to long-term investment strategies. «In the near future, all assets will live onchain,» Schnura said, noting that the merger positions the group to capture opportunities as traditional financial products migrate to blockchain rails.
Keyrock has also applied for regulatory approval under the EU’s crypto framework MiCA through a filing with Liechtenstein’s financial regulator. If approved, the firm plans to offer portfolio management and advisory services, aiming to compete directly with traditional asset managers as well as crypto-native players.
«Today’s launch sets the stage for our longer-term ambition: bringing asset management on-chain in a way that truly meets institutional standards,» Keyrock CSO Juan David Mendieta said in a statement.
Read more: Stablecoin Payments Projected to Top $1T Annually by 2030, Market Maker Keyrock Says
Business
Crypto Trading Firm Keyrock Buys Luxembourg’s Turing Capital in Asset Management Push

Crypto trading firm Keyrock said it’s expanding into asset and wealth management by acquiring Turing Capital, a Luxembourg-registered alternative investment fund manager.
The deal, announced on Tuesday, marks the launch of Keyrock’s Asset and Wealth Management division, a new business unit dedicated to institutional clients and private investors.
Keyrock, founded in Brussels, Belgium and best known for its work in market making, options and OTC trading, said it will fold Turing Capital’s investment strategies and Luxembourg fund management structure into its wider platform. The division will be led by Turing Capital co-founder Jorge Schnura, who joins Keyrock’s executive committee as president of the unit.
The company said the expansion will allow it to provide services across the full lifecycle of digital assets, from liquidity provision to long-term investment strategies. «In the near future, all assets will live onchain,» Schnura said, noting that the merger positions the group to capture opportunities as traditional financial products migrate to blockchain rails.
Keyrock has also applied for regulatory approval under the EU’s crypto framework MiCA through a filing with Liechtenstein’s financial regulator. If approved, the firm plans to offer portfolio management and advisory services, aiming to compete directly with traditional asset managers as well as crypto-native players.
«Today’s launch sets the stage for our longer-term ambition: bringing asset management on-chain in a way that truly meets institutional standards,» Keyrock CSO Juan David Mendieta said in a statement.
Read more: Stablecoin Payments Projected to Top $1T Annually by 2030, Market Maker Keyrock Says
Business
Gemini Shares Slide 6%, Extending Post-IPO Slump to 24%

Gemini Space Station (GEMI), the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has seen its shares tumble by more than 20% since listing on the Nasdaq last Friday.
The stock is down around 6% on Tuesday, trading at $30.42, and has dropped nearly 24% over the past week. The sharp decline follows an initial surge after the company raised $425 million in its IPO, pricing shares at $28 and valuing the firm at $3.3 billion before trading began.
On its first day, GEMI spiked to $45.89 before closing at $32 — a 14% premium to its offer price. But since hitting that high, shares have plunged more than 34%, erasing most of the early enthusiasm from public market investors.
The broader crypto equity market has remained more stable. Coinbase (COIN), the largest U.S. crypto exchange, is flat over the past week. Robinhood (HOOD), which derives part of its revenue from crypto, is down 3%. Token issuer Circle (CRCL), on the other hand, is up 13% over the same period.
Part of the pressure on Gemini’s stock may stem from its financials. The company posted a $283 million net loss in the first half of 2025, following a $159 million loss in all of 2024. Despite raising fresh capital, the numbers suggest the business is still far from turning a profit.
Compass Point analyst Ed Engel noted that GEMI is currently trading at 26 times its annualized first-half revenue. That multiple — often used to gauge whether a stock is expensive — means investors are paying 26 dollars for every dollar the company is expected to generate in sales this year. For a loss-making company in a volatile sector, that’s a steep price, and could be fueling investor skepticism.
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